Eighths of his right to uriah k



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. H. R I O H M A N N.

Air Compressor.

No. 229,468. Patented June 29, 18801.

Witnesses I14 \rentav ".PEI'ERS PNOTO-LI'I'HOGRAPHER, WASHINGTON. D C

(HO M0061.)

H. RIOHMANN. Air Compressor.

Patented June 29, 1880.

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Mill/Ill,

N-PETERS, PHDTO-UTHOGRAPKER- WASHINGTON, D, C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY RICHMANN, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR OF FIVE- EIGHTHSOF' HIS RIGHT TO URIAH K. ARNOLD, OF SAME PLACE.

AIR-COMPRESSOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 229,468, dated June 29,1880. Application filed April 14, 1880. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, HENRY RICHMANN, of thecity and county of San Francisco, and State of California, haveinventedan Improved Air- Compressor 5 and I do hereby declare the following tobe a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to certain improvements in air-compressors; and myimprovements consist, first, in providinga peculiarlyshaped double crankfor communicating the power from the steam-cylinder to theair-compressing piston, the crank for the cross-slide of thesteam-cylinder beingformed in one piece [5 with that for the cross-slideof the air-cylinder; second,in providing for the pistons of theair-cylinders double piston-rods, whereby the pistons are more evenlybalanced and room left in the cylinder-heads for valves of large area;third, in constructing the pillars and bed-pieces of the frame-Workhollow, and so connecting them that said frame shall act as anair-receiver; and, fourth, in certain details of construction, as ismore fully described in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 isa perspective view of the machine. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view.Figs. 3, 4, 5, and 6 are details.

The bed-plate A and standards or pillars A are made hollow, and on theupper plate is formed a tube or hollow ofl'set, a, connecting the upperends of the hollow standards, as shown, and the whole space thusconnected serves as a reservoir for the air compressed by the air-pistonand led into such reservoir through suitable passages.

The steam-cylinder B is placed on the bedplate, and its piston B has twopiston-rods, b, which connect with a cross-slide, 0, above. Theair-compressing cylinder D on the upper plate has also doublepiston-rods b b on its piston B, these rods also being connected belowto a cross-slide, C. Guide-rods E extend from the upper plate down tothe steam-cylinder or to the bed-plate, to keep the motion of theslotted cross-heads in line. The upper or air-cylinder cross-head, C,has sliding clamps e c, which move outside the guides E, and the lowerorengine-cylindercross-head, C, has similar sliding clamps e e, which moveinside of the guides, the two cylinders being so nearly in line that theone set of guides serves for both cross-heads.

In the working of the cross-heads by the cranks, as hereinafterdescribed, the crossheads are 116"61 far apartin their motion, andwhatever tendency to lateral pressure is engendered by the slidingcrank-pin boxes in the cross-slides is prevented by the sliding clamps e6, one pair being inside the guides and the other pair outside, thepressure or strain of one being counteracted by that of the other.

Combined with these slotted cross-heads I use a peculiarly-formedthree-armed or compound crank, by means of which I am enabled to utilizethe power of the engine in a most economical manner for compressing theair.

Ordinarily the crank of the engine operates a shaft on which there isanother crank for communicating motion to the piston of the aircylinder.This necessitates the air-compressing-cylinder being at some distancefrom the engine-cylinder and very much out of a direct line, and theair-compressing appliance is correspondingly enlarged. There is alsoconsiderable torsional strain upon the shaft, depending upon its length.I desire to make my air-compressor in as compact a form as possible, andto bring the air-cylinder as nearly in line with the steam-cylinder asmay be, at the same time providing a peculiar connection of the twopistons, whereby the greatest power of the engine is exerted as the airreaches its highest compression. I therefore employ this peculiarcompound crank and the connectingslides.

The two crank-pins are supported and connected with the axle or shaft bythe three arms f, f, and f standing at acute angles 0 with each other,and producinga peculiar following motion of the cranks and the piston,as will be hereinafter described.

0n the crank-shaft F is an arm, f, the crankpin of which moves in thesliding boxgin the 5 cross-slide C. On this pin of the arm f is formedanother arm, f, placed at an acute angle to the armf. This arm f has itspin moving in a sliding box, g, in the cross-slide C, and on its pin isthe third arm, f set at an I00 acute angle to the center arm,f'. asshown. This third arnnf is keyed to or formed with theopposite endoi'the crank-shaft, upon which the fiy-wheel G is secured, and thisshaft F is in line with the shaft F. These two cranks may be cast orforged in one piece, or each one may be formed separately and keyed tothe shafts, with the crank-pins uniting them, as shown.

Neither of the three arms are in line with one another, nor is eitherone at right angles to any other; but they are so arranged with relationto each other and the crank-pins that the greatestpower of the engine isexerted at its most effective point with relation to the air-compressingpiston-that is to say, that at the moment when the air in thecompressing cylinder has been half compressed by its piston being movedhalfway up, then the crank ot' the engine-cylilnler is nearly at rightangles to the line of travel of the piston of the engine-cylinder, andat its most etfective point for exerting the pressure necessary tocompress the already partly-compressed air in the compressioncylinder.The same is the case on the downstroke of the piston.

The air-piston commences its return stroke before the engine-piston hasreached the end of its stroke, and the peculiar connection of the twocranks and their uniting-arms with the sliding boxes is such that as theenginecrank begins to reach the highest or lowest point of its stroke itis forcing the sliding box 9' transversely to one side of its slottedcrosshead, and this box becomes nearly stationary at the time when theengine-crankis passing its dead-point, so that the absolute work of theengine is at a minimum while the crank is passing the dead-point. Afterpassing that point the power of the enginecrank increases until itreachesa position at right angles with the line of travel of the piston,and is exerted as a direct thrust upon the sliding box g through theconnecting-arm f.

By my peculiar formation of the cranks and bringing the two cylindersnearly in line, I do not have to form two complete cranks but thecentral arnnf, which unites the two crankpins, serves to transmit thepower of the engine to the piston of the air-compressor. This armrevolves bodily around the axis of the shaft, as both its ends areconnected with the crank-pins, and its action is therefore that of apitman or connecting rod, its peculiar movement being made possible bythe action of the two transversely-moving boxes 9 g and theirverticallynioving slides U C. This mechanism makes it possible tocompress air to sixty pounds with a pressure of only thirty five poundson the engine-piston.

In the ordinary construction of air-cylinders with acentrally-placedpiston'rod the air-valves in the cylinder-head can never be made oflarge diameter, as they must occupy the space outside of the piston-rodand its stufting-box; but by employing two piston-rods (shown in mypresent construction) the space between them is so great that a valve oflarge diameter and capacity may be employed with all its attendantadvantages.

In single-acting air-compressing cylinders, where the valve is in thepiston the same advantages accrue, since a large valve may then beplaced in the piston, the rods coming on the sides of said piston.

It will be seen that by having the double piston-rods, whether thevalves are in the cylinder-head or in the piston, a large area is leftfor the valves, and their action may be rapid and free. With thepiston-rod in the center not half of the area of either piston orcylinder can be utilized for valves and seats, while with the doublerods over half the area may be so utilized.

Inclosing the double-acting air-compressing cylinder is ajacket, H,intended to hold water and answer as a water-jacket to the cylinder. Thecylinder itself sets in a depression or circular box, I. under the topplate, into which the compressed air from both ends of the cylinderpasses, suitable inlet and outlet valves being provided. The pipes mbring the air from the upper end of the cylinder down to the box I. Thebox or depression communicates with the hollow standards, upper holes,a, and bed-plate, and the supply pipe J delivcrs this compressed air tothe source where it is to be used. Suitable openings are made to leadthe air from the valves into the pipes m, as shown in Fig. 4, the saidpipes m being shown in Fig. 5.

By having the hollow standards and bcd-.

plate the frame of the compressing apparatus serves as a receiver inwhich to hold the compressed air ready for use, the whole being incompact form.

By the means employed for transmitting the power from the engine to theair-compressing cylinder herein described I am enabled to compress theair with a comparatively slight expenditure of power, while the wholeapparatus is in a very compact form.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The steam-cylinder B, having its pistonrod united with thecross-slides C, and the aircompressing cylinder I), having itspiston-rod connected with the cross-slide (3', in combination with thethree-armed double crank f f f z and the slide 9 g, whereby the motionof the engine-piston is transmitted to the piston of the air-cylinder,substantially as herein described.

2. In an air-compressing apparatus having an air-cylinder, I), and asteam-cylinder, B, placed opposite each other, with their pistonrodsconnected with the independent slides C U, the guide-rods E E, adaptedto guide the clamps 0 e of the respective slides while allowing theslides to pass each other, substantially as herein described.

3. The single pair of guide-rods E E, adapted to guide theoppositely-curved sliding clamps e e of the parallel moving cross-headsO 0, whereby the lateral pressure and strain upon one slide iscounteracted by that of the other, substantially as herein described.

4. In combination with the parallel moving cross-slides O 0, connectedrespectively with the pistons of the steam and air cylinder of anair-compressing apparatus, the double crank actuating thetransversely-moving slides g g, and connected by the single uniting-armf, whereby the steam-piston exerts its greatest power at the point ofgreatest compression of the air without the intervention of a shaft,substantially as herein described.

5. In an air-compressin g cylinder, the piston B, having twopiston-rods, b I), connected at the sides of said piston, whereby valvesof large area may be introduced between the rods either in the piston orthe cylinder-head, substantially as herein described.

6. In an apparatus having the steam-cylincross-heads are steadied intheir movements,

substantially as herein set forth.

7. In an air-compressing apparatus consisting of the steam-cylinder D,provided with an intervening connecting mechanism, as shown, the hollowsupporting-frame A A a, forming a receiver for the compressed air and asup-.

port for the operating mechanism, substantially as herein set forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

HENRY RICHMANN.

Witnesses:

S. H. N OURSE, FRANK A. BROOKS.

